Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi stressed Wednesday Egypt’s commitment to the principle of dialogue, negotiation and peace on the issue of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), calling for the need to sign a binding agreement for all based on international law.
During a joint press conference with his Angolan counterpart President João Lourenço at the headquarters of the presidential palace in the Angolan capital Luanda, President Al-Sisi said that the Nile is the only resource for Egypt, as 90% of Egypt’s land is desert, and that the built-up part of Egypt is only surrounding the Nile River and is suitable for agriculture.
He said that he discussed with the Angolan President the regional situation and the situation in Sudan, and the need to strengthen stability in the region.
President Al-Sisi stressed the need for a ceasefire in Sudan, pointing out that Egypt has received 200 thousand Sudanese since the beginning of the crisis, and stressed the need to work to end the conflicts, calling on the brothers in Sudan to cease fire and start dialogue.
He stressed Egypt’s readiness to cooperate with Angola through the Egyptian investors, who are investing in the Angolan market through a joint committee to discuss a joint opportunity, including the preparation and maximization of trade exchange.
“We talked with the Angolan president about digital transformation, privatization, encouraging cooperation in the field of investment, as well as joint cooperation between the two countries in the field of security,” Al-Sisi added.
Al-Sisi expressed his happiness to visit Angola for the first time, stressing the importance that Egypt attaches to maximizing coordination and consultation with the Angolan side to strengthen the mechanisms of joint African action, whether institutional, political or developmental, in order to contribute to achieving the growth and stability that African countries aspire to.
President Al-Sisi also expressed Egypt’s pride in the brotherly relations it has with Angola in various dimensions, especially with regard to Egypt’s role in supporting development efforts in Angola by providing technical support and capacity-building programs to prepare Angolan cadres.
He praised in particular the pace of economic growth witnessed by Angola as one of the successful models on the African continent.
“Egypt is interested in increasing the volume of trade exchange and investments with Angola, and enhancing the role of the Egyptian business sector in the Angolan market in various fields during the coming period,” Al-Sisi added.
For his part, Angolan President João Lourenço welcomed President Al-Sisi’s visit to Angola as part of his African tour, expressing Angola’s pride in the first visit of an Egyptian President.
He praised the active role of President Al-Sisi in addressing African issues, especially within the framework of efforts to accelerate development in the continent and maintain peace and security.
The Angolan President stressed his country’s aspiration to work with Egypt to face the many challenges facing the continent, which require concerted African efforts to face them through activating the mechanisms of joint African action, especially at the level of the African Union.
President Lourenço pointed to the depth of historical and long-standing relations between the two brotherly countries at various levels, officially and popularly, stressing the need to work in this regard to develop various frameworks of joint cooperation, especially in economic and trade aspects.
He called on benefiting from the Egyptian potential and its broad experience and successful experiences in many fields, including infrastructure development, construction of new cities, pharmaceutical manufacturing, the establishment of major projects and roads, and tourism.
The Angolan President explained that he held a discussion with President Al-Sisi in several areas, including cooperation between the Nile Basin countries and discussing the common interest between the downstream and upstream countries, stressing the need for the Nile River to be a source of unity and settlement of misunderstandings.
Lourenço added that everyone should sit at the dialogue table to find the common interest to benefit, stressing that the Nile River is a resource that is not the preserve of any country but belongs to everyone.
In the field of international relations, Lorenzo pointed to the need to find a settlement mechanism for the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, adding that Egypt and Angola agree on the need to end this conflict as soon as possible, because of the humanitarian crises and instability it caused.
He stressed the need to confront this conflict so that it could not reach more dangerous dimensions than we could imagine.
President Lourenço stressed that President Al-Sisi’s visit is important for Angola, calling on President Sisi to visit his country in November 2025 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Angola’s independence, noting that Al-Sisi has extended an invitation to him to visit Egypt at the earliest possible opportunity, welcoming this invitation.
